Across the Multiverse
by FlamingFlyingFoxOfDoom
Summary: Alphys learns something about her family, learns about how broken she never realized it was. Now, she wants to fix it. Even if it means trekking across the Multiverse (AU crossover)
1. Tems Took this Chapter's Title

**A/N**

**Edit(6/3/2019) I had to fix a bit of an issue with some dialogue (it wasn't showing up for some reason?). It's fixed now.**

* * *

Sans yawned, rolling his shoulders back at the front door after appearing there in a flash of blue light. His shoulders loosened with a satisfying pop before he turned his attention to cracking his neck. Stifling another yawn, the skeleton monster tapped his bare knuckles against the door.

No one answered immediately, and he frankly didn't care. A content grin was on his face and his eye-sockets slowly fluttered shut. The warm sun was starting to sink bellow the horizon, and the last rays of that day's light were settling comfortably on his face. The bottom of Sans's eyes squinted up a bit in his grin.

He was half-dozing when the sun had set fully, and a cool breeze shook him awake. He yawned again, blinking his eye sockets at the still-closed door. The lack of an answer still didn't seem to phase him. He shrugged, there was another flash of blue light, and he was inside the house.

And his foot may have materialized inside a discarded cup of ramen. Sans didn't make a move to remove the cup of ramen, simply acknowledging it with a short glance and a 'hm'. A quick scan of the living room showed that the place was messy, even by his standards.

Well…maybe not that messy.

"Hey, Alphys?" Sans called casually, trudging through the garbage that littered the floor. It was a bit odd for the place to be _this_ much of a disaster. Papyrus usually bullied Undyne into keeping it relatively clean, and Alphys was doing better in regards to clutter these days.

"Alphys?" Sans called again, stepping over an empty Pringles™ can. "Y'here?"

He got an answer this time, in the form of a whirring saw-sound and electricity sparking out from underneath a closed door to a side room. Instead of opening the door like a normal person, Sans decided to simply teleport into the room. Because opening doors was too much work. Manipulating space-time to change your relative position was not, however.

Alphys was hunched over something, a welding helmet shielding her face as her circular saw went to work on some hunk of metal.

"Hey, Alphy." Sans greeted, trotting up to stand by her side. She made no indication she heard him. Sans shrugged it off and glanced around the room. There was a white board covered in notes, whether they be written in marker, or on pieces of paper stuck on it with tape and magnets. There were a few diagrams here and there too, as well as some calculations.

Sans found himself moving closer to the board, eyelights flickering across the scattered information. It was hard to find any particular flow of logic here, but that didn't quite surprise him. Alphys tended not to care much about that sort of thing when she was as invested in something as she was right now.

Sans's phone buzzed in his pocket. He fished it out and clicked it on, reading the most recently received text(s).

_Pap_

_ SANS ARE YOU AT UNDYNE'S?_

_ SANS DID YOU FALL ASLEEP?_

_ YOU BETTER NOT BE TAKING A NAP RIGHT NOW, BROTHER!_

_ …_

_ SANS IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT? YOU'RE TAKING A LONG TIME_

Sans's grin turned a bit sheepish as he texted back a quick reply of 'srry. fell sleep'.

Another buzz of his phone indicated a response.

_Pap_

_ OH MY GOD SANS YOU HAD US WORRIED SICK!_

_ AND HURRY UP, EVERYONE IS BEGINNING TO GET IMPATIENT!_

Sans texted back 'k' and pocketed his phone again. He gave the board another glance over then turned to look at Alphys. She was still hard at work, oblivious to his presence. Sans's attention drifted upwards, taking in the entirety of this latest project of the lizard monster.

A large rectangular-looking thing. Wires of all sizes and colors crossed over each other. There was a monitor, but it was off now. Dials and keypads and an assortment of buttons that seemed randomly placed littered its surface. The machine loomed over them, as if trying to stare them down.

It was a mystery to what this contraption did, certainly…

He shook his head, reminding himself of the task at hand.

"Alphys." He tried to get her attention. And failed. He rolled his eyes and tried again "Alphys."

…

Still nothing.

He poked a boney finger against her cheek. Alphys jumped (literally, kind of like a cat) and let out a little squeak. She turned the saw off, flipping up her mask. Sans offered a casual wave in response. Alphys sighed a little in embarrassment.

"H-hey, Sans." She said. A stiff, awkward smile crept its way across her lips "Uh…..what's up?"

"Yer late." Sans said with a shrug. "Papyrus told me to come make sure yer alright. And if you were, he demanded I tell ya 'everyone is waiting and yer dad is scaring me'."

"My dad…?" Alphys frowned. Her eyes quickly widened in realization and she all but threw the saw on the ground, darting out the door. "O-oh my gosh I totally forgot t-that was t-today! I'm not even ready yet!"

Sans chuckled, trotting after her.

"Take yer time. I'll wait." He said to her as she raced up the stairs. He got the feeling she didn't hear him but he didn't particularly care.

The certain event that Alphys was late for was something of a family dinner. Like, everyone's family. Undyne and her parents were there, Toriel had a few of her childhood friends attending, Frisk had Flowey, and he and Papyrus had eachother. Asgore and Mettaton had both intended to come as well, but the two of them had ended up with responsibilities they just couldn't ignore.

It still was a rather large dinner, and everyone was incredibly excited for it. Papyrus had rambled on about it since they had the idea. It was a chance to get to know everyone better, and to get to know their respective families.

When he was sent on this little errand to pick Alphys up, everyone else had already arrived. They all seemed patient enough though, so he wasn't too worried about them being upset.

Well, except for Alphys's father that is….

He swallowed down the groan of annoyance that tried to leak out at the mere thought of the man. Marty, Alphys's father, was quite… blunt. Sans doubted that the guy tried to come across as so ungodly irritating, but he certainly accomplished that anyway.

He was snapped out of his derailing thoughts as Alphys barreled down the stairs in a frilly pink dress, a little bow haphazardly tied to her head.

"I'm s-sorry, Sans!" She stammered out, fidgeting with the end of her sleeves. "I h-h-hope D-dad wasn't too….." She trailed off, making a face as she tried to find the right words.

"Rude?" Sans offered it to her. Alphys sighed, running her hand down her face.

"Ugh, yeah." She muttered.

Sans shrugged "Eh." He shot her a wink "Let's just hurry up so he calms down a bit, hm?"

"Ha ha…. Yeah." Alphys said with a wobbly smile. Sans offered her his hand along with a grin. She took it, and they were in the living room of Toriel's home before you could blink.

Alphys was immediately tackled by a blur of blue.

"ALPHYS!" Undyne grinned, hugging the little yellow lizard so hard her ribs may have cracked.

"H-hey, Undyne-!" Alphys wheezed, her smile gaining strength and becoming a bit more genuine.

Several other people filtered into the room.

"This is Alphys?" Another fish monster said with a grin, one hand on her hip and the other around her husband's shoulders.

"Yep!" Undyne shouted excitedly, holding up Alphys to her. "Alphys, these are my parents!"

"H-hi." Alphys stammered out meekly.

Undyne looked incredibly similar to her mom. Except her mother seemed a bit shorter, her hair had a bit more volume to it. The fins that served as her ears seemed almost shredded at the edges, and she had a large scar across her right eye. Undyne's father was smiling menacingly at her. It didn't seem to be purposely intimidating. He was just very, very large with a large mouth full of huge sharp fangs. He was a kind of bronze in color. And Alphys was scared for a moment, then she noticed how his thick, black claws seemed to be filed down. How his grin seemed a bit shakey and his eyes really gentle….

Aw, he was just a big softy with a scary face.

"Nice to meetcha!" Undyne's mother grinned, shaking Alphys's hand (a little bit rougher than necessary), and shaking her out of her observations. "I'm Sydna!" Sydna pulled her husband over gently "And this handsome fish is Ifrit!"

"Hello, Alphys." Ifrit greeted with as small a smile he could manage "It's good to finally be able to meet you, Undyne talks about you a lot."

"O-o-oh my GOD." Alphys stammered, wide-eyed "S-she does?"

"Well, DUH!" Undyne said with a grin as she hugged Alphys tight "Why wouldn't I want to brag about my awesomely nerdy friend?"

Alphys had nothing to say to that as she was too busy hiding her face in her hands and blushing wildly.

Sans chuckled. His attention was called away from Alphys and company by his pun-pal's voice.

"Welcome back, Sans" Toriel said with a smile.

"Heya, T." Sans said, shooting her a wink.

"Hi Sans!" said Frisk in their quiet voice as they quickly hugged him.

"Took you long enough." Flowey muttered. Sans ruffled Flowey's petals, which resulted in a bit of shared laughter as the plant recoiled with a hiss.

"I AGREE WITH FLOWEY! IT CERTAINLY DID TAKE YOU LONG ENOUGH!" Papyrus said with a bit of a pout as he strolled over. A bundle of while fluff was vibrating on the top of his skull, staring at Sans with its wide, beady eyes.

Sans's grin grew stiff.

"Er…..Is that a Tem?" He asked hesitantly.

Toriel let out a little giggle, covering her mouth with her paws. "Indeed it is." She took a breathe to steady herself before addressing the weird cat-dog-thing with a smile. "Nurse, this is Sans."

"HOI SOONS!" The tem, Nurse(?), barked out happily, her ears tilting in his direction.

"Uh…hi." Sans grinned, tensing a bit. Toriel's face fell, looking between the two of them. Frisk picked up on their adopted mother's unease and they frowned.

"Do you two not get along, Sans?" Frisk asked.

Sans gave a stiff shrug "I have had many bad experiences with Tems."

"With _TEMS?_" Flowey sneered "I mean, yeah they're annoying, but you're just as annoying. I figured you'd like them."

"Uh…." Sans shrugged a bit into his hood as the Nurse's vibration increased in intensity, her eyes locked on Sans.

"OH, SANS, THAT HASN'T HAPPENED IN FOREVER!" Papyrus snorted, giving his elder brother a dismissive wave.

"It was two months ago." Sans muttered.

"What was two months ago?" Frisk asked. Flowey's glare flicked back and forth between the skeleton brothers. Toriel gave a tilt of her head, her curiosity beginning to gleam in her eyes.

"Nuthin'." Sans attempted to dismiss the query with a (slightly agitated) snort. Papyrus apparently was having none of that.

"OH, SANS HAS BEEN SKELE-NAPPED BY TEMS BEFORE. SEVERAL TIMES." He explained curtly, crossing his arms across his chest as Sans turned an impressive shade of blue. The statement gained the attentions of the other monsters in the room.

"Sans got kidnapped by _TEMS!?"_ Undyne barked out a laugh, leaning on Sydna for support as she cackled. Sydna, in turn, wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders and laughed as well. Like mother, like daughter, they had the same laugh. The same, loud, loud, laugh.

"INDEED." Papyrus nyeh'd. His expression shifted to an annoyed one "IT'S QUITE TROUBLESOME TO DIG THROUGH ALL THE TEMS TO FREE HIM."

"Yeh, I had a real bad _tem- AH SHOOT-!" _Sans began to quip, but was a las interrupted by the Nurse pouncing onto his face, claws sinking into the sides of his skull. Not hard enough to scratch, but tight enough to get a grip on him. Sans flailed around, trying in vain to pry the excited temmie off.

"Paps-! Help!" Sans said loudly, his voice muffled by the Tem.

"OH GOODNESS." Papyrus said, quirking a brow.

"_COOT!" _The Nurse declared happily.

Toriel snorted out a laugh, and quickly after most everyone in the room was consumed by a giggle fit. All save for Sans and Papyrus, who were the ones dealing with the overly happy Tem. Papyrus got a grip on the small monster and tried to pry her off, however, in typical tem fashion, her legs just stretched out, and their noodly length wiggled with her happy purrs.

"I resign myself to my fate." Sans said with a sigh that was quite exaggerated in the drama category. He dropped onto his back onto his floor, stretching the tem's legs out further.

"BROTHER, NO! STAY WITH ME!" Papyrus yelled in just as dramatic a fashion (whether he was playing off of the comedic mood or if he genuinely meant it is a mystery).

Alphys chuckled, covering her mouth with her hands as the scene unfolded before her. Frisk had set Flowey's pot on a side table and was now assisting Papyrus with attempting to remove the tem (they were still laughing though).

Looking away to try and regain her breath and she let out a startled squeak at the sudden appearance of the monster next to her.

"D-Dad-!" Alphys stammered, clutching at her chest "Y-y-you scared me-!"

Alphys's father, Marty, frowned as he put a steadying arm around her shoulders. "Sorry, sweetheart." He said, concern lacing his voice "Do you need your inhaler?"

"N-no, I'm fine." Alphys said with an awkward chuckle "Thanks, though."

If she thought Undyne's resemblance to Sydna was uncanny, her resemblance to her father was just as such. Same colored scales, same basic build. He had a bit more fringes on his face, and his features were just sharper in general. He didn't have the buck teeth like she did either… Also, he was taller. Whether that was due to his actual height or just her bad posture she had no idea, though.

"Hey Marty, ya feel like lightening up a bit now?" Sydna grinned, strolling over from them as she wiped a tear out from the corner of her eye. Behind her, Undyne was still laughing at the skeleton brothers, now clinging onto Ifrit as the larger fish monster calmly reminded his daughter to breathe. Toriel had joined Frisk and Papyrus in an attempt to pry off the tem (there was now an impressive pile of tem leg on the floor). Flowey was cackling, all the while Sans just laid there, every now and then saying something along the lines of 'go on without me' in a monotone voice.

Marty's expression hardened as he all but scowled up at Sydna. "I don't believe I need to 'lighten up'."

"Aw, c'mon dude, chill!" Sydna grinned, slapping Marty across the back playfully. Marty snorted, straightening his glasses.

Alphys sighed.

Being socially inept just ran in her family, she guessed.

The rest of the night went well. Eventually Toriel had convinced the Nurse to detach herself from Sans's face, which seemed to placate Sans enough. The Nurse then lied on top of the stocky skeleton's skull, slurping up spaghetti from a seemingly impossible distance. Undyne and her mom were both loud in their pleasant way, Ifrit's large, sharp grin bright as he stayed quiet. Papyrus and the Nurse both excused themselves early when Sans and Toriel got into a pun-contest. Frisk found this funny, especially with Flowey demanding to be taken out of the room as well. Alphys stayed mostly quiet too, and she was just happy to be with her friends. Though, she was ever mindful of her father sitting beside her. He looked on at the antics with his usual neutral scowl, but something seemed wrong. The look in his eyes was kind of….familiar.

Much like a look she's seen far too much in her own reflection.

A look of a deep, deep sadness he was trying to hide away.

When it evidentially reached Frisk and Flowey's bedtime, the adults who were foreign to the household politely excused themselves, bidding the home's residents and the other guests farewell. Alphys had just watched Undyne and Sydna dash off into the night, the two of them yelling about who can run across town faster. Ifrit yelled after them, saying he'll meet them at the finish line with some water as he loaded himself into the fish family's car. Alphys fidgeted with her claws as the two competitive women disappeared over the horizon.

Something was bothering her dad. But….she knew that already. He'd have that look in his eyes often, whenever he saw a family having a good time. She never really knew the extent of it. And really, she still didn't. But, now, with her….experiences, Alphys could read a bit deeper into that look. It was something he had to talk about. Talking had helped her with her problems, after all.

Alphys took a deep breath, steadying herself before looking around for some sign of her father. Marty wouldn't have gone home already, she knew that. He would always give her a farewell (with a hug and a few minutes of reminding her to take care of herself, call him when she got home, and to brush her teeth and all that).

"D-dad?" Alphys called out, mindful of the children Toriel was putting to bed. She took to a brief search. Soon enough, she heard her father rather than see him.

"…been doing?" Marty's voice said. Alphys blinked, wondering who he was talking to and about what. She peered around the corner of the front of the house. Marty was there, on the side porch, leaning against the railing as he spoke with….Sans?

"Better." Sans said, his grin seemed tired, but genuine. "She's putting herself out there more, that's for sure."

Marty sighed "That's good to hear. Thank you, Sans."

Sans chuckled at that "Geesh, be careful there, old man. Sounds like you respect me or something."

"Shut it, Five." Marty scowled.

Alphys blinked. Five? She shook her head and kept listening.

"Heh heh." Sans snorted out a quiet laugh. He suddenly stood up tall, clicking his heels together as he folded his arms behind his back "Yessir." He said with a mocking amount of formality. Marty snorted, and at the sound Sans went back to slouching over the rail, chuckling to himself all the while.

The mood sobered up again as Sans's laugh petered off.

"So, how about you?" the skeleton asked after a moment. Marty must have given him a confused look because Sans elaborated "Listen, I know ya worry 'bout Alphys a lot, but ya gotta think of yerself sometimes. No offense or anything, but ya look like shit."

Again, a silent look Alphys couldn't see from her angle. Must've been a nasty one as Sans threw his hands up in mock defeat.

"Sorry, sorry. That was rude." He said. With a sigh, he shoved his hands in his hoodie's pockets. "Still, uh, tryin' to…..remember 'im?"

Marty snorted. Alphys could picture him rolling his eyes "No, of course not. Why would I?" The sarcasm was practically dripping from his words.

Another moment of deafening silence.

"Maybe ya should just….let go?" Sans said. He didn't look at Marty as he spoke, even shrinking more into his hoodie. The uncertainty in his voice was heavy, almost suffocating.

More silence.

"Goodbye, Sans." Marty said curtly. Any trace of familiarity he may have had talking with Sans earlier was gone.

Sans flinched "Y-yeah. Night."

Alphys released a breath she didn't know she was holding. She turned tail and ran back to the front of the house, quickly pulling out her phone and making a show of scrolling through her social media. She wasn't actually registering any of it.

What were they talking about? How did Sans and her father know each other? Why did Marty call Sans 'Five'? Who was Sans telling Marty to 'let go' of? Who didn't Marty remember?

There were too many questions swirling in her mind. It was inducing some sort of headache. Her breathing was getting faster too. Senses were shutting down.

Some part of her mind registered this as having a panic attack.

The majority of it was just too busy having said panic attack.

She saw Marty walk up to her. She saw him realize what was happening and run the rest of the way over. She felt her father's arm across her shoulders, felt his hand holding her trembling one.

"Alphys, sweetie." Marty said soothingly. "Sweetheart, can you remind me of the Fibonacci sequence?"

She knew full well he didn't need reminding. But this was a tested method between them. Her mind was reeled back to reality as she focused on reciting the sequence.

"Zero… one, one… two, three, five…" She took a steadying breath and went on stronger "Eight, thirteen, twenty-one…." Another breath and her voice began to steady out "Thirty-four, fifty-five…." She shook her head, twisted herself away from her father's arm and went in for a full-blown hug instead. Marty returned it almost immediately, rubbing her back in a soothing manner.

Alphys said nothing, just maintained the hug for several long moments. She eventually pulled away, wiping at a few straggling tears. Marty frowned at her, concern evident in his expression. Alphys swallowed again, opening her mouth to speak but finding she had no words to say. She closed her mouth again, studying the man who had raised her.

What was he hiding from her….?

"Sweetie?" Marty said to gain her attention. When she gave it to him, he continued, straightening his glasses "Do you want to talk about it?"

_Something I should say to you._ Alphys thought. She went to say as much but thought twice. If she knew anything about her dad, it was that he would probably never tell her about anything troubling him. But….maybe Sans would….

Alphys shook her head again and gave her dad a weak smile.

"I, uh…" she fidgeted and settled on a lie. She was good at that, after all "T-there was a lot of people."

Marty frowned "Was Sydna's family too loud?" That edge came back into his tone as his expression hardened "I'll have a word with them."

"D-dad, no-!" Alphys squeaked. From there it was their usual, familiar banter. Marty just didn't understand 'manners', really. Alphys had to remind him once in a while.

After finally getting through to her father to at least be semi-tactful, Alphys checked the time on her phone and frowned "Uh, it's late."

"Makes sense." Marty said, crossing his arms over his chest as he gave the area a quick look-over. His gaze rested back on her "Did you walk here?"

"N-no." Alphys said, shaking her head "S-sans warped me here-" She cut herself off and facepalmed. "Ugh. How am I getting home-? Oh!" She gave a sheepish smile and looked back up at Marty. "D-did you drive here? Can I r-ride with you?"

Marty's tail twitched "Sans warped me here too."

Alphys sighed "Walking it is, I guess."

"Absolutely not." Marty said bluntly "It's too dark. You might trip. Or there can be a wild animal. Or it could rain. Darkness isn't necessarily helpful in keeping you from getting lost either."

Alphys fidgeted "D-do you think we s-should ask Toriel if we c-can stay here tonight?"

"Do you want to?" Marty said, quirking a scaly brow.

"Not really." Alphys said quietly "I can get loud." Marty nodded, knowing too well his daughter's rather…passionate, arguments she often partook in in the late hours of the day. Alphys fidgeted with her claws and continued "But, uh, we really don't have much choice-"

"Sans." Marty said suddenly with an annoyed swish of his tail. Sans was quickly standing between them. His grin was there, but it looked a bit too tight at the corners, and he wouldn't look at Marty.

"Sup?" He said. His tone was its usual casual monotone.

"Take Alphys home." Marty said it more like a command. Sans shrugged.

"All right." He offered his mittened hand to Alphys. She reached to take it when her father's wording became apparent to her.

"W-what about you, Dad?" Alphys said "How are you getting home?"

"Walking." Marty said.

"B-but Dad, you j-just said-" she stammered.

"Good night, Alphys." Marty giving her a quick hug before going on his way. Alphys opened her mouth to call after him when Sans put a hand on her shoulder, cutting her off.

"He doesn't like warping when he's mad at me." He said with a shrug. A quick wink was thrown at her "May have told too many puns for his liking."

Alphys stared at his hand, then up his arm until her eyes landed on his face.

It just occurred to her she didn't remember ever meeting Sans.

The said skeleton's grin faltered. "Uh…."

"S-sans-" Alphys said weakly. She swallowed down her unease and tried again "Sans, I-…I…." She was losing the nerve quickly. Sans seemed concerned. Alphys wondered if she should pry. Every time she does, she just messes it up somehow. She shook her head. No. Self-loathing won't help her dad with whatever problem he was having. Whatever problem Sans knew about.

She had a million things she wanted to say. Eventually, it settled onto a statement she knew would snowball into a conversation she needed to have.

"I heard you and Dad talking." She said, trying to imitate her father's curt manner of speaking. It came out too quiet. Too unsure. But she wouldn't back out now.

Even as Sans's hand on her shoulder suddenly gripped a bit too hard. And his grin hitched up a bit too high. And his eyesockets went dark.

Welp, that was an unnerving expression.

"**How much did you hear?"**

Alphys flinched back and her eyes widened. That was Sans speaking. That voice that seemed so loud but barely a whisper at the same time. If she had hair, the ones on the back of her neck would have been standing. She swallowed.

"I-I-" Her vision was starting to get blurry. Oh fuck, she was tearing up. Shit shit shit, she needed to be strong and level-headed for this. She then realized she was shaking too.

Sans's expression slowly relaxed. The lights in his eye sockets returned, a bit hazier than before, and his grip on her shoulder loosened.

"Ah geez, I'm sorry Alphys, I-" He took his hand back to run it down his face. "Alphys, please. Just. Tell me what you heard."

Alphys fidgeted. "Um…. I heard you talk to him…about me, I think. Y-you were telling him h-how I was doing better?"

Sans nodded "Alright. That's not it though, is it?"

Alphys slowly shook her head. "U-uh….." She swallowed again. She wanted to ask a million things, really. But…. "You….y-you were telling D-dad he should….let go?" Sans's eye sockets went dark again. Alphys swallowed "L-let go of….what, Sans?"

The wind blew a long moment, rustling through the tree branches overhead. Sans seemed to deflate, his hands in his pockets.

"Your father. The, uh, the other one."

Alphys's eyes widened.

It suddenly seemed colder.


	2. Strings Pulled Taut

"My….other father." Alphys said slowly, expecting Sans to correct the statement somehow. Instead, she got a stiff, nervous nod.

"Y-yeah." Sans said, not meeting her eyes. "W-w-welp, I should get you home before Marty figures out I didn't. Heh heh heh….."

"W-what? No!" Alphys snapped a bit too loudly. She and Sans winced, both on edge for a moment as silence shadowed the outburst. When there was no reply to the shout, they both sagged a bit and continued the conversation in whispers.

"Sans, w-what happened t-to my o-other dad?" Alphys said, the sudden drop in temperature becoming apparent to her as a chill wind blew.

"I-er-" Sans winced, shaking his head. A painfully-obviously forced grin was slapped onto his face. "Listen, it-… it ain't important. Alright? Alright."

"Sans-"

Sans all but snatched her arm, and they were in the living room of her and Undyne's house before she could blink. Undyne wasn't home, as evident by the silence of the home.

"There, yer home. Er, g'night I guess-" Sans said quickly, stumbling through his words.

"Sans-"

"S-see ya some other time, I guess." Sans cut her off again, waving slowly. Alphys grinded her teeth, trying to steady her increasingly shaking body.

It was just a split second. A split second of the air tingling as Sans gathered up his magic. No doubt to teleport away from this situation.

Alphys noted a few things in that small, small window of time.

One: She was trembling.

Two: She was tired.

Three: She was…..scared? Frustrated?

….

No.

She was _mad._

"Sans! Tell me what happened, _now!"_ Alphys snapped.

Sans's expression dropped. Almost….empty. A blank look. Not even his signature grin in place. Alphys swallowed, her shaking becoming more intense.

"O-oh, uh-" She stammered, fidgeting with her claws. She was about to apologize for losing her temper. About to ramble on about how she wasn't angry (even though she was), and she just wanted to know what was going on. Just wanted to _help._

But before she can get another word out….

Sans drew himself up. Not confidently or in defiance or how he would straighten up when he was about to deliver a bad joke. No. How his posture shifted. It was….. Like someone pulling a puppet up with its handle, setting the strings straight in preparation to put on a show. His eye lights were still there. But they seemed kind of foggy. Hazy. Like he wasn't really seeing her.

Sans crossed his arms behind his back and clicked his heels together. He spoke again, and at the first syllable Alphys felt a bit of relief. But that relief was thrown out the window rather quickly.

"Marty does not remember your other parent, the Doctor." Sans said. It was monotone, but not his usual monotone. His words were clipped, short, detached. He sounded like one of those pre-recorded phone messages. "This is due to the existence of the Doctor being scattered across space-time."

Alphys swallowed nervously. "S-sans…..? Uh…" Her voice was too quiet to carry.

Sans continued talking "As of now, it is unknown whether the Doctor could be considered 'dead' nor whether he could be restored to our reality. Report delivered."

He bowed at the waist, ducking his head to her before straightening up again and looking at her with that blank, distant look.

Alphys swallowed. Her mind was running itself in circles. "S-s-sans…..?" She took a shaking step toward him and he offered no response. Alphys stopped. Her vision was blurring through tears that were quickly spilled over her cheeks. It was hard to breathe.

She heard his response as opposed to seeing it.

"…Alphys? Oh, shit- c'mon, don't cry." A hand was on her shoulder and some sort of cloth was put in one of her trembling hands. "Easy, pal. C'mon, breathe."

Alphys clutched onto the cloth like a it was a lifeline. A moment passed before she could bring it up to her eyes to wipe them of tears, then she ran the cloth once over her glasses just so she could see again.

When her gaze landed on him, Sans offered up a shaky grin.

"Er….better?" he said hesitantly.

"W….what…" Alphys took a deep breath and let it out through her nostrils. "What j-just happened?"

Sans took a step back, not meeting her eyes as he shoved his hands into his coat's pockets. "Er…"

Alphys cut him off, shaking her head. "N-nevermind _what_ happened. Are….Are y-you okay, now? I-is that something that h-happens….?"

Sans chuckled weakly and shot her a wink pair with an awkward shrug. "I'll be fine. It just caught me off guard a bit." He scratched the side of his face. "Um. So. Y'know what happened to yer mystery dad now."

Alphys swallowed. "W-was that true?"

Sans hesitated before giving her a stiff nod.

…

"Okay, I'm going to bed." Alphys said, turning on heel and heading to her room.

"W….what?" Sans blinked.

"Two panic attacks, an existential crisis and a social gathering is enough for one day." Alphys explained curtly. She put her face in her hands "I'm t-tired. I'll t-think a-a-bout this tom-morrow."

"Uh…..Alright. G'night?" Sans said. Alphys closed the door to her room and curled up onto her bed.

And if she was wishing for a dreamless sleep, she didn't get her wish.

Although….technically she did. Because she didn't dream. She had a downright _nightmare._

It was dark. So, so dark it was leaking into her body, dripping out of her mouth, nose, and eyes. Her head hurt. Her SOUL hurt. Overwhelmed. Drowning. Being pulled down into a current of _nothing_ and somehow seeing _everything. _

Images flashed through her mind and she felt them through her SOUL. There was so much pain and despair and dust and _blood._ So many voices. So many faces. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to move, or….or _something!_ Anything instead of just immobilized, being smothered by darkness.

But worst of all was that scream.

It ripped through her. Shook her like a ragdoll which just made her head hurt more. It was loud, but kind of quiet? Like it was trying not to reach her but couldn't quite hold itself back. It was saying something, she was sure. What it was saying she couldn't understand, but she understood what it wanted to say.

_**HELP.**_

Then she was pulled into the darkness again. Fell into it, maybe? Alphys didn't know and she doesn't think she wanted to know. She just wanted _out._

"_ALPHYS."_

It was screaming.

"_ALPHYS."_

She could understand it now.

"_ALPHYS!"_

Wait….it didn't seem like how it was before. It sounded more confident. Louder. Clearer. Felt closer.

…

Felt closer?

"_ALPHYS WAKE UP!"_

Alphys's eyes snapped open. She heard ringing and everything seemed kind of muted. Distant. She could see, but nothing really settled. There was blue.

_Sans?_

"Oh god I hope not." The voice, the one that was calling her name, said. It sounded familiar….

Wait.

Wait wait wait wait.

Blue. Blue scales. Alphys saw blue around her. Saw some red to her left. Felt something….someone _holding her?_

Alphys's awareness snapped back in full.

_OH MY GOD UNDYNE WAS HOLDING HER._

Alphys squeaked, loudly, burying her face into her hands as her tail instinctively curled around her.

"Oh my g-gosh Undyne I am s-so sorry I-I-I-"

"Shut up." Undyne cut her off. The words were harsh, but there was no bite to it. It sounded more like a sigh, really. Undyne pulled Alphys closer, nuzzling the top of the lizard monster's head. Alphys might as well reclassify herself as a tomato monster because she was just as red as one.

She was about to squeak out another apology (an excuse maybe?) but she lost her train of thought.

Undyne was _shaking._

"Undyne, are you o-okay?" Alphys said quickly, reaching up to put a hand on Undyne's forehead. She didn't have a fever, which was good, but why was she shaking?

Undyne mumbled something into the top of Alphys's head.

Alphys blinked "What?"

Undyne straightened herself up and took a deep breath, letting it out through her nose.

Then she shouted.

"YOU WERE SCREAMING!"

Alphys winced at the volume, rubbing the side of her head where her ears would've been if she had them.

"I-I was….?" Alphys frowned. "S-sorry."

"I was worried sick." Undyne murmured, tightening her grip on Alphys. "You just wouldn't wake up. I felt so….powerless."

"U-undyne….." Alphys swallowed. "I'm….I'm s-sorry."

Undyne didn't say anything for a long moment. Just took shaking breaths. Alphys chewed the inside of her cheek, studying the fish monster's face. There were bags under her one visible eye. How long has she been up?

"Whatever!" Undyne shouted suddenly as she bared her long, sharp fangs. She jumped to her feet, bringing Alphys with her as she sprinted down the hall. "I'm gonna make you breakfast!"

"Oh, uh, thanks-?"

"EMPHASIS ON THE _BREAK!_" Undyne cackled.

"Undyne, no-!"

* * *

**A/N**

**Oh my, I wonder what's going on with Sans? And what's going through Undyne's head. She's not one to just say her feelings, after all. And Alphys seems to be having issues too.**

**Oh, also: Chapters will swing wildly in length. This one is about the average length.**


	3. A Normal Morning

Sans stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom. Papyrus was snoring (almost painfully) loudly in the next room. Frisk and Flowey snoozed away in their shared room, and across from their room Toriel was sleeping the night away.

All the while, Sans stared. His trembling hand clutched tightly to his sternum as he took long, deliberate breaths. Why he had to breathe, he will never know.

Alphys didn't mean to do what she did. He knew that. And it wasn't a big deal, he shook himself out of it.

…

He….kind of wished he didn't.

Sans flinched at his own thoughts. But he knew it was pretty close to truth.

It was just…..easier to absent-mindedly do anything he was told to. Scary. But less work. Damn. He really wished he could do that to himself. Just… 'yo, me, fall asleep now'. But. No. He has to do that the ol' fashion stupid 'natural' way.

…

Eventually, he fell asleep.

…

A couple weeks passed without incident. Sans didn't have another….lapse. Which was good, because it would have been really awkward if he did. He snickered to himself as he napped at the table during breakfast just imagining that situation.

Papyrus would tell him to pick up his sock. Then he does. Then Papyrus's eyes would do that funny thing where they bug out and he'd let out an exaggerated 'WHAAAAAAAAA?'

Oh. But then when Sans didn't reply and just stared blankly after saying 'awaiting next orders'….. Yeah. It wouldn't be too funny after that.

Suddenly he couldn't find it in him to nap. He made a show of yawning, stretching his arms out across the table like how a cat would stretch out its front legs.

"What? Staying awake?" Flowey said grumpily. Plant was _not_ a morning person.

"Yeh. Too tired to nap." Sans said through another yawn, shooting the children seated across from him a wink.

"_THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!" _Flowey hissed as Frisk giggled into their hands. Sans's grin grew a bit wider.

"Yeah, it doesn't. It makes…." Pause for dramatic effect….

"_DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE-"_

"…_sans."_ Sans arched a boney-brow, the bottoms of his eye sockets crinkling up as Flowey flailed about screaming while Frisk just lost it laughing.

"I WILL ASSUME I'M GRATEFUL I DIDN'T HEAR THAT PUN." Papyrus muttered as he waltzed into the room, setting down a generous plate of pancakes (that only smelled slightly terrible).

"Ah. Shame, I would have loved to hear it." Toriel hm'd thoughtfully as she went about setting out silverware, cups, and a pitcher of juice.

"I can repeat it, if ya like." Sans grinned at her.

"_NO NO NO NO NO"_ Flowey screamed. Frisk, still giggling into one of their hands, pressed gently down on the flower's head with their free hand.

"Hm. Someone's lookin'…." Sans shot Toriel a wink. "_flower."_

"I HATE YOU WITH A PASSION!" Flowey roared from underneath Frisk's hand. Frisk got caught into another giggle fit while Toriel snorted out a chuckle or two.

"I HATE THIS. A LOT." Papyrus muttered.

"All right, all right. That is enough puns for now, Mr. Funnybones." Toriel managed to wheeze out. She took a steadying breath. Sans deflated a bit but gave in with a shrug. Flowey and Papyrus let out a sigh of relief. As Sans settled back into his chair, Toriel winked at him "No matter how _humerus _they may be."

"TORIEL WHY!?" Papyrus screeched in despair, Flowey smacking his face against the outside of his pot. Frisk pounded their small fist against the table, shaking with their laughter.

Eventually, they all settled down enough to actually start to eat breakfast. Sans had drenched his pancakes in ketchup (much to Papyrus and Flowey's disgust), and was about to just shove the contents of his plate into his face (he had recently discovered Papyrus's disdain of eating through eye sockets and found it hilarious) when the door was kicked down.

"_SANS!"_ Undyne roared, practically shaking the house.

"HELLO UNDYNE!" Papyrus said chipperly, oblivious to the suddenly tense atmosphere. Toriel instinctively pulled Frisk and Flowey closer to her, her fur standing on end as Undyne stalked across the room to Sans. The fish monster didn't address Papyrus other than a grumble 'hi'.

Sans grinned up at Undyne as she towered over him. "Sup, Undies?"

Undyne grabbed him by his shirt's collar, hauling him up so they were face to face.

"What the _hell _did you say to Alphys!?" She snapped.

"WHAT?" Papyrus blinked.

Toriel frowned, covering her mouth with one hand. "Has something happened to Alphys?"

_[Is she okay?] _Frisk signed.

"W-woah. What? What's wrong with her?" Sans stammered as he felt his non-existent stomach drop. "Is she okay?"

"I-!" Undyne began to shout, but cut herself off. Her voice dropped down to almost a whisper the same moment her ear-fins drooped. "I don't know?"

"Uh…." Sans blinked, sweat beading on his skull.

"I don't _KNOW, _okay? She's just- I just- I don't know what's going on with her!" Undyne growled, giving Sans a harsh shake.

"Undyne!" Toriel said sharply, pushing her arm between the fish and skeleton.

"I- ugh, I-…." Undyne abruptly dropped Sans, whom of which Papyrus dove to catch. "I'm sorry, alright? I'm sorry. I just- I…." She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring into the wall. "She's …. Been having nightmares. Bad ones. Like. Really bad ones. And when she's not trying to sleep, she's just working on something in the back room. I ask her what she's doing and she won't give me a straight answer. Or maybe she does? I don't… I don't know!" Undyne suddenly snapped, throwing her arms up in the air and then went to pacing angrily around the room. "It's just. So. INFURIATING!" She stopped abruptly, jabbing a finger accusatory at Sans "And all I got out of her is that _YOU _said something to her! So what was it!? What did you say to her!?"

Sans's eye sockets went black. Was this about….him?

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON BUT I THINK YOU SHOULD CALM DOWN. A LITTLE BIT?" Papyrus said, hugging his brother closer to him.

"Indeed." Toriel said slowly, looking across them all. Her eyes landed on Frisk "Perhaps you and Flowey should go play in your room?"

Frisk shook their head as they signed _[I want to help]._

Flowey snorted as he watched the human child's hands. He rolled his weird flower eyes "I just kind of do whatever Frisk does, so I guess I'll stick around too."

Toriel studied them a long moment. Then she gave them a slow nod "Very well-"

"I'll go talk to her." Sans cut Toriel off and immediately gained the attentions of everyone in the room. Undyne's snarl hitched up a notch.

"So you _did _say something to her?" she hissed at him.

Sans just sighed in response. "Yeah. I did." He looked away, not willing to look at any of them. "I…er. I didn't mean to upset 'er. It was… just kinda a heavy topic." Sans forced a weak chuckle. "So….it…. uh, it is my fault. Probably. I'll…. Uh, I'll go talk to her."

He tugged on Papyrus's scarf, pointing to the floor to indicate he wanted down. Papyrus seemed hesitant, but obliged.

"SHOULD I…. SHOULD I GO WITH YOU?" Papyrus offered.

Sans shook his head "Nah. Like I said….it's….kind of a heavy topic? Not sure if she'd want anyone else around to talk about it."

He looked at room's other occupants.

"Welp. I'll be back later." Sans said as he shot them all a wink.

A blue flash and he was gone, appearing in the living room of Alphys's house. The clutter from the other day was gone…. From where it _had_ been. Now it was piled up in the corner. Electricity sparked out from under the door to the side room.

Sans sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

He hesitated.

He didn't have a heart- a physical one, anyway – but he felt like it would be pumping quickly if it was there. Would she….. give him another order?

The rational part of his mind said 'no, she's not like that'. The sleep-deprived, hopeless part said 'who cares if she does'.

Sans opened the door.

Then there was an explosion and everything went white.


	4. Snowfall

…

…

She shivered.

It was really cold. Alphys curled her tail around herself, tightening her body into a little ball. The ground crunched and shifted beneath her, stinging her scales with just how stupidly _cold _it was.

…

Wait.

Why was it cold? Why was she laying down?

_What happened?_

Alphys's shivering gave way to trembling and she straightened her body out. There was white in front of her…. She reached a hand out cautiously to touch it, and it sunk right in. Damp and cold.

"Snow!?" Alphys yelped to herself, jerking up straight. Sure enough, there was snow on her hand. And everywhere else. It was falling from the sky too.

Now, she wasn't an expert on weather on the Surface, but she was pretty sure it didn't snow when it was warm out.

But as she looked up she found out….Well, she _wasn't_ on the Surface.

"I'm back Underground….?" She questioned out loud, her breath coming out in a puff of white mist. That…. Didn't make sense.

Alphys stumbled to her feet, swishing her tail about to help her keep her balance. Her feet were cold (as was the rest of her, her feet were just colder due to their direct contact with the snow). A shudder went down her spine. She hugged herself, rubbing at her arms to warm them up a bit. Looking down the long, empty path flanked by huge evergreen trees…. Alphys was pretty sure she was in Snowdin Woods.

She decided to just call someone….Preferably not Sans (she was pretty sure he was mad at her), but she might have to if she couldn't get ahold of anyone else. Alphys reached into her pocket to get her phone-….

Where was it? And why was she wearing a labcoat?

…

Oh.

"Oh!" Alphys squeaked, flinching at the volume of her own voice. She shuffled her feet nervously, looking around.

That's right! The machine-! She was working on the machine and- And something- No! No, she activated it! That's right, she switched it on and….

She…. Guessed it didn't quite work.

Alphys sighed. Well….. Step One: Get back to the house.

….

Step Two: Tell everyone she didn't die.

…

…

Step Three: Date and marry Undyne.

…

Maybe she was jumping ahead a bit there.

Alphys chuckled a bit at her own internal joke before sighing, hanging her head. Walking back up there was going to be a pain. Maybe the Riverperson still hung around down here? If so, that would make the trek a bit less obnoxious.

Her tail swished a bit in agitation. The stupid machine of hers didn't work. But….she could just try again, she guessed. Just. Focus on getting back home, first. See if she could find a way to communicate to someone she didn't die while she was at it.

Alphys took a deep breath to steady herself. Being sleep deprived might be a blessing in disguise here. After all, she was too tired to panic! Hooray!

She turned away from the Ruins, took a step forward, and tripped over someone.

"Ow." Said the person she tripped over.

Alphys flinched. Slowly, shaking, she turned her head to see some blue… She rose her foot a little to get a better look…. She poked him in the face with her toe as he rose an eyebrow at her….

"O-o-oh." Alphys stammered, looking away from him "H-h-hey, Sans."

"Sup?" he said.

"Not m-much. Just. Uh. Just…." She blinked and her attention snapped back to him "Wait, what are you doing down here?"

"Could ask ya the same thing." Sans said through a yawn. He took a moment to try and push himself up (not really. He just pressed his face back into the snow) before giving up on that and just teleporting himself into a standing position.

Alphys snorted a bit at his antics. She winced, turning away from him "Uh…. Um… Well, I – EEP!" The lizard monster was aboutto explain, but was cut off by Sans casually picking her up to place her back on her feet like she weighed nothing.

"O-o-oh my gosh, you're r-really strong?" Alphys said, staring at him. Sans's grin turned stiff and he took a step back, offering a shrug.

"Heh heh. Yeh. Got…like, invisible muscles and shit." He said, pocketing his hands and looking away from her.

"Ew, why would you want invisible shit?" Alphys said because she was going off of three hours of sleep and a gallon and a half of coffee and not because she really didn't want to see Sans with that expression ever again because it made her feel like the scum of the earth.

…Maybe a mix of all that. Whatever it was that prompted her to say it, the crude joke did its job as Sans let out a wheezy chuckle.

"Aw _crap, _Alphy, that was a _shit_ joke, low-brow humor." Sans said through his chuckling. Alphys sighed a bit, relaxing just a little. Seemed like that lightened the mood. She laughed a little just in relief.

"W-well, uh…. S-sans, why are you down here….?" Alphys said with a slight tilt of her head.

"'Ell if I know." Sans said with a shrug, scratching the side of his face. "I went to check on ya, somethin' 'sploded and I woke up 'ere."

Alphys squeaked "O-oh my g-g-gosh, are you okay!?"

Sans made a show of checking himself over. He stared at his hands intently a second and slowly shook his head.

"O-o-oh no!" Alphys said, taking a step forward "Wh-what's wrong, how can I help-"

"I'm not okay. I'm a skeleton." Sans said like it was the most devastating revelation in the world. He swayed with a dramatic wail, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead and flopped back onto the ground.

…

Alphys shot him a peeved glare. Sans chuckled, shrugging a bit as he got back to his feet "Sorry, sorry, couldn't help it. But. Uh. Yeah. Why 'splosion?"

Alphys swallowed nervously. "….Science?"

Sans rolled his eye(light)s. "Duh?"

Alphys fidgeted with her claws, shuffling her feet "I…Uh, I was… Well, I-" She took a deep breath to steady herself. "I-"

Sans slapped a hand over her mouth, pulling her close to his side with a whispered 'be quiet'. His eye sockets were narrowed as he scanned the area. Alphys swallowed, holding her breath.

…

…

…

_SNAP!_

It came from behind them. Sans turned on heel, his left eye bursting into blue and yellow sparks and he shoved Alphys backwards. She fell onto the snow with a _thump!_

Facing off with Sans was someone wearing a green hoodie, with red eyes that seemed almost like they were glowing and a smile that was too large for their face.

"Greetings." They said "I am Chara. What brings the two you here?"


End file.
